Man who sparked terrorism fears in London was driving for Uber with false Private Hire licence and n

An Uber driver that sparked terrorism fears when he ploughed into pedestrians outside London’s Natural History Museum in October 2017 had been driving without insurance and a licence for two years it has been revealed. Juma Omar, 48, drove his vehicle onto the pavement outside the historic building, sending pedestrians fleeing for their lives.

Omar claimed the brakes on his Toyota Prius failed, but was convicted at the Old Bailey of dangerous driving. The court heard that Omar applied for a replacement passport in another man’s name and used that identity to pass his driving test. He then got a job driving for controversial ride-hailing app Uber using fake documents and did not have insurance on the day of the incident outside of the museum.

Almost a dozen people were injured during the incident before Omar was wrestled to the ground and detained by members of the public who feared a terrorist attack. Omar admitted having a passport in another name and having a false private hire licence as well as having no insurance or driving licence. As reported by the Daily Mail, Omar was jailed for 15 months by Judge, Mr Recorder Oliver, who said his driving was ‘appallingly dangerous’. Questions will now be asked how he managed to drive as a private hire driver for Uber and pick up passengers without insurance or a driving licence